Mind by Design

11/13/2025

Educational transitions represent some of the most significant challenges children with learning differences face during their academic careers. Unlike their neurotypical peers, who may adapt relatively easily to new routines and expectations, children with learning differences often rely heavily on familiar structures, consistent relationships, and predictable environments to feel secure and perform their best.

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Worried about your child's transition to the next school level? Learn how to prepare children with learning differences for successful academic transitions.

11/08/2025

Resilience isn't about eliminating struggle or pretending that learning challenges don't create real difficulties. Instead, it's about developing the inner resources to face challenges with confidence, recover from setbacks, and continue moving forward despite obstacles. For children with learning differences, resilience becomes an essential life skill that often matters more than any single academic achievement.

Children with learning challenges face unique obstacles that can either become sources of strength or ongoing struggles, depending on how they learn to interpret and respond to these experiences. They may work twice as hard as their peers to achieve the same results, face daily reminders of their differences, and navigate complex emotions about their capabilities and worth.

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How can you help your child with learning challenges develop resilience? Discover proven strategies to build confidence and coping skills for lifelong success.

11/06/2025

School transitions can feel overwhelming when your child has learning differences. Let's clear up some common misconceptions that might be holding your family back.

Here's what I want every parent to know: your child's learning differences don't disqualify them from successful transitions. They just mean we need to be more intentional about planning and support.

The most important thing? You don't have to figure this out alone. Trust yourself. Trust your child's potential. And don't let myths keep you from exploring all the options available.

Have you heard other myths about school transitions? Share them with us and let's tackle them together!

11/03/2025

Resilience isn't something children either have or don't have. It's something we can intentionally build together.

When your child faces learning challenges, it's natural to want to remove every obstacle from their path. But here's what I've discovered in my years as an educational psychologist: children build resilience by learning they can handle difficult things, not by avoiding them.

Your child's learning challenges don't define their potential. They're simply part of their unique journey to discovering just how capable they really are.

Which strategy resonates most with your family right now? Share in the comments!

10/31/2025

As parents, we often focus so intensely on supporting our struggling learner that we might miss the quiet questions and big feelings of their brothers and sisters.

Here's what I've learned from working with hundreds of families: siblings thrive when they feel seen, heard, and valued for exactly who they are. It doesn't happen overnight, but with intentional support, these relationships can become incredibly strong.

What questions do you have about supporting siblings? I'd love to help.

10/29/2025

Every parent of a struggling student has asked this question!

Executive function coaching isn't just about getting organized (though that's part of it!). It's about recognizing and nurturing the incredible potential that already exists within your child.

The transformation? Students go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling genuinely empowered. They don't just discover they CAN succeed - they realize they were always capable.

Ready to see what's possible for your child? Let's chat about how executive function coaching can make a difference.

10/28/2025

Siblings of children with learning differences face a distinctive set of experiences that can shape their emotional development, family relationships, and self-perception in profound ways. Unlike other family members, they're both intimately familiar with their sibling's challenges and yet may lack the developmental maturity or information needed to fully understand what's happening.

These siblings often develop remarkable empathy, patience, and advocacy skills from an early age. They learn to be flexible when family plans change due to their sibling's needs, and they frequently become natural helpers and protectors. However, they may also experience confusion about why their sibling receives different treatment, worry about their own academic performance, or feel guilty about their relative ease in school.

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How do learning differences affect siblings? Discover practical strategies to support all children in your family while maintaining healthy relationships.

10/27/2025

Picture this: Your bright, capable child sits at the kitchen table, surrounded by textbooks, papers scattered everywhere, fighting back tears of frustration. They're smart, you know they are. Their teachers know they are. But somehow, despite everyone's best efforts, homework remains a nightly battle, backpacks become black holes for important papers, and test preparation feels like an impossible mountain to climb.

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Wondering how executive function coaching can help your child succeed? Discover what it is and how it transforms academic performance and daily life skills.

10/24/2025

Before diving into specific strategies, it's crucial to understand that "reading struggles" can look very different from child to child. Some children can sound out words beautifully but have no idea what they've just read. Others understand complex stories when they're read aloud but can't decode simple words independently. Still others read accurately but so slowly that they lose the meaning by the time they reach the end of a sentence.

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Worried about your child's reading progress? Discover evidence-based literacy intervention strategies you can implement at home to support your struggling reader.

10/22/2025

Learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. When a child struggles with reading, for example, the challenge might involve visual processing, auditory processing, attention, memory, fine motor skills, language development, anxiety, or a combination of several factors. A child who appears to have "just" a math problem might actually be dealing with working memory challenges, processing speed differences, or even unresolved anxiety about making mistakes.

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Wondering why single interventions aren't solving your child's learning struggles? Learn how multidisciplinary teams address the whole child for lasting success.

10/13/2025

We've expanded to Morgan Hill! Our new office at 17300 Monterey Rd, Unit 300 is now open and ready to serve even more families across the South Bay.

This means your trusted partner for comprehensive assessments, executive function coaching, speech and language services, and educational evaluations is now even more accessible to the families you support.

Same expert team, same collaborative approach, new convenient location. We're ready to help families navigate learning differences with clarity and confidence.

Let's connect!

10/13/2025

Here's what I want every parent to know: you absolutely can make a meaningful difference in your child's reading development at home. It doesn't require a teaching degree or expensive programs; it requires understanding your child's specific needs and having consistent, targeted strategies.

What's one literacy myth you used to believe? Or what question do you have about supporting reading at home? Let's learn together!